Transformative gift gives new lease of life to leading disability charity

Half a million pound donation provides essential new equipment and employment to people with disabilities.

Leading disability charity, Enham Trust, has revealed the transformative effects a £500,000 donation has had on the disabled and disadvantaged people it supports.

The generous donation, gifted to the charity by a philanthropist with links to Hampshire, has already provided essential new equipment for one of the charities major social enterprises, Mount Industries.

Established for over 40 years, Mount Industries provides valuable employment opportunities for disabled people who may otherwise struggle to find work. The social enterprise, which currently employs 24 staff, manufactures quality and competitively priced furniture which it sells to schools and local councils across the south of England.

The donation has funded new state-of-the-art machinery, enabling the charity to increase production and continue to provide long-term sustainable employment for disabled and abled bodied employees. It has also enabled the Trust to broaden the range of products on offer, providing vital new income to ensure the long term survival of the business.

Commenting on the benefits the donation has bought the social enterprise, CEO of Enham Trust, Peta Wilkinson said, “This incredibly generous donation has given a vital boost for Mount Industries, which has enabled us to continue to sustain the current work force and provide valuable employment to those who need it most.”

For 39 year old Aaron (pictured to right), who has social phobia, anxiety and depression, the offer of employment at Mount Industries was a lifeline.

Having lost his job, Aaron said: “I tried going back to work but tended to suffer from panic attacks and my employers didn’t know how to cope with me, so always let me go due to ‘health reasons’. This really knocked my confidence and I started to feel like I would never find another job.”

Aaron spent ten years out of work before joining Enham Trust’s Work Choice programme, which provided him with the confidence to take a job at Mount Industries.

“When I first started at Mount Industries in 2013, I was on the factory floor making the furniture, on a 16 hour a week contract. I was very quiet and lacked a lot of confidence – talking to anyone new was really hard,” he explained.

“The staff at Mount Industries, and the Work Choice Advisors at Enham Trust, supported me at every turn; I was immediately encouraged to take on qualifications such as Fire Safety, and Manual Handling, and now I’ve progressed to Main Fitter on a full time basis! Something that, a few years ago, I never thought would be possible.

“I’ve worked in places before where I felt isolated, but not here! Enham Trust has given me opportunities that other organisations wouldn’t.”

Peta Wilkinson added: “It is vital that we continue the success at Mount Industries that these funds have enabled so that more disabled people like Aaron are introduced back into employment. The new machines have enabled us to train more people and give them a chance to find work in the open job market”

“Any profits that Mount Industries make are reinvested into the Trust to support disabled people to live as independently as possible.”